Red Sox

The Orioles had a hand in the collapse of the Red Sox, taking five games from the playoff pretenders last month. But fried chicken, beer and video games played a bigger role, according to an interesting Boston Globe report. Bob Hohler of The Globe reported that Boston's top starters, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and John Lackey, have a habit of pigging out and chillaxing in the clubhouse during home games, even critical ones in September. “The indifference of Beckett, Lester, and Lackey in a time of crisis can be seen in what team sources say became their habit of drinking beer, eating fast-food fried chicken, and playing video games in the clubhouse during games while their teammates tried to salvage a once-promising season,” Hohler wrote in a Wednesday report.

I am a Red Sox fan (I now live in New England), by way of having been a Braves fan (they were the team of the deep South in the '70s) , by way of having been a Brooklyn Dodgers fan as a very young child (their enemy was the Yankees, and they hired Jackie Robinson). I am a devoted Sox fan, and watch almost every Red Sox game on TV, unless I am at Fenway. It always seems weird to me to see a ballpark half full when I am used to Fenway full for every game. OK, there were lean times for theO'sin the past, but how can your city not come out to support the team this year?

The last time the Orioles met the Red Sox, they played baseball's version of the Boston Marathon - a 17-inning game at Fenway Park that completed Baltimore's first sweep of Boston since 1994. And the last time the Red Sox came to Camden Yards, they left with their season shattered, sending them prematurely into an offseason of upheaval. Its pretty clear that the Orioles have had the Red Sox's number of late, beating Boston in seven of their last eight entering Monday. But these Red Sox arrived at Camden Yards surging, winners of eight of their last 10 games as they try to work their way out of the early-season American League East cellar.

It didn't take long for right-hander Jake Arrieta to retreat to the video room inside the Orioles' clubhouse to go over another tough start Wednesday afternoon. Shortly after the Orioles' 6-5 series-finale loss to the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards, Arrieta could be found inside a dark room full of computers, trying to find answers to explain his up-and-down season. When the 26-year-old right-hander has pitched well, he has shown the potential to become the front-line ace the organization needs, but when he has struggled, he has had heads shaking.

Ben McDonald's shoulder is sore and he goes on the disabled list. Kevin Brown's finger is dislocated and he's sidelined for perhaps a month. The Orioles are some eight games behind the Boston Red Sox.Much more of this and it could be time to just start planning and playing for the future. Play Manny Alexander every day at second base. Play Jeffrey Hammonds every day in right field (and leave him there). Leave Scott Klingenbeck in the rotation and find out whether he'll ever be more than a guy who just gives you a chance to win. Call up Brian Sackinsky, Jimmy Haynes, Mark Smith, Alex Ochoa, find out what they can do. Find out whether they can help.

Ask him for the highlight of his Hall of Fame career and Frank Robinson jumps on it like a high fastball. "The '66 season," he told The Baltimore Sun last month. "I couldn't have scripted the first year [with the Orioles] any better. That's winning the pennant, that's sweeping the Dodgers [in the World Series], that's winning the Triple Crown and the Most Valuable Player. That's Hollywood stuff. " None of that happens without Robinson, the headstrong 30-year-old outfielder obtained from the Cincinnati Reds.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- At first, you don't believe it. Jim Rice in the Senior Professional Association. How can this be?If you want proof that there's no telling the lengths to which a man will go if he truly loves his profession, consider the gamble Rice is taking in the 2-year-old league. The fact that Rice is a former Boston Red Sox superstar and a Hall of Fame candidate makes no difference. He says there are some things you can't accomplish sitting on the outside looking in."It's my life," Rice says when asked why he's playing baseball when he could be enjoying the "retirement" forced upon him in November 1989 when the Red Sox decided not to retain him. "I've played it all my life.

W hen it comes to fan relations, the Orioles sometimes have the touch of a blacksmith. Take their two latest moves: raising the price of tickets bought the day of the game and charging more for 19 "premium games," which include Opening Day and all Yankees and Red Sox games. Here is Cowherd's Primary Theory of Sports Commerce: If your team stinks and you're having trouble attracting fans, jacking up ticket prices is generally not a good PR move. I would say 12 straight losing seasons and another Titanic-like finish last year qualifies as "stinks," wouldn't you?

Less than 14 hours after beating the Red Sox in 13 innings last night, the Orioles return to Fenway Park to face the Red Sox for an afternoon matinee. Jason Hammel, who has gone at least six innings in four of his five starts this season, will start for the Orioles. That should help an Orioles bullpen that threw eight shutout innings. Five different relievers threw on Friday, including three who threw multiple innings. “They were all pretty short last night,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of the bullpen.

Players must adjust Ron Fritz Baltimore Sun It's too early to tell. Bobby Valentine certainly has the experience, and he convinced ownership he's the guy. Now he needs to work on the players. They clearly preferred the country-club atmosphere under Terry Francona. But after the late-season collapse and missing the playoffs last year, the players lost their country-club membership. Thanks to their pitiful performance and clubhouse shenanigans, someone had to go. What second baseman Dustin Pedroia said after Valentine criticized Kevin Youkilis was stunning: "I really don't know what Bobby's trying to do, but that's not the way we go about our stuff around here.

During all the mounting losses, the short outings, the brutal beatings from the opposition that left-hander Brian Matusz endured last season, the Orioles faithful remained fairly kind, with only a smattering of boos for his worst performances. Matusz was, after all, considered a key to the club's future after a solid 2010, and the fan base was just waiting to embrace him again. So when he walked off the Camden Yards field Tuesday after throwing a two-hit gem in a 4-1 win against the Boston Red Sox, the announced crowd of 25,171 -- at least those there to cheer the Orioles -- showed its appreciation with a loud and long standing ovation.

The last time the Orioles met the Red Sox, they played baseball's version of the Boston Marathon - a 17-inning game at Fenway Park that completed Baltimore's first sweep of Boston since 1994. And the last time the Red Sox came to Camden Yards, they left with their season shattered, sending them prematurely into an offseason of upheaval. Its pretty clear that the Orioles have had the Red Sox's number of late, beating Boston in seven of their last eight entering Monday. But these Red Sox arrived at Camden Yards surging, winners of eight of their last 10 games as they try to work their way out of the early-season American League East cellar.

Kevin Gregg has had a resurgence of sorts after a slow start this season and a rough year in 2012. He had strung together seven scoreless outings totaling 9 1/3 innings pitched. That all came to a halt in the seventh inning Monday. Entering in relief of Tommy Hunter (6 IP, 9 hits, 5 earned runs), Gregg allowed a one-out single, double and then intentionally walked David Ortiz. Adrian Gonzalez broke the 5-5 tie with a sacrifice fly and Will Middlebrooks added a RBI single to give the Red Sox a two-run lead.

Their five-game road trip to Kansas City and Washington completed, the Orioles come home for a three-game set against the Boston Red Sox to complete a stretch of 20 games in 20 days. The Orioles' off day Thursday will be welcome in many ways. It will also be the first of three off days over the next nine games. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he's considering adjusting the starting rotation to give left-hander Wei-Yin Chen or right-hander Jason Hammel extra days rest.

Get through to him Steve Gould Baltimore Sun As much as Josh Beckett's comments show a disconnect with — perhaps even outright disrespect for — his team and its fans, the Red Sox have little recourse other than to try to hammer into his head why his behavior is so rankling. And good luck with that. Don't let Beckett's horrid outing Thursday or his 5.97 season ERA fool you: He's still a good pitcher and one the Red Sox need. Four of his six outings have been quality starts, and all the outcry over beer and chicken doesn't change the fact that he posted a 2.89 ERA and 8.2 Ks/9 IP last season.

Ask him for the highlight of his Hall of Fame career and Frank Robinson jumps on it like a high fastball. "The '66 season," he told The Baltimore Sun last month. "I couldn't have scripted the first year [with the Orioles] any better. That's winning the pennant, that's sweeping the Dodgers [in the World Series], that's winning the Triple Crown and the Most Valuable Player. That's Hollywood stuff. " None of that happens without Robinson, the headstrong 30-year-old outfielder obtained from the Cincinnati Reds.

A look at what some other media outlets have to say about the Orioles: * Anthony McCarron of the New York Daily News gave the Orioles the top spot in the newspaper's power rankings before the O's were trounced 14-3 by the Texas Rangers  on Monday night : “OK, this thing with the Orioles is getting out of hand. After sweeping the maybe-they-really-are-just-cruddy Red Sox at Fenway over the weekend, they have the best record in baseball at 19-9, a half-game better than the Rays, and they are sending shock waves through our MLB Power Rankings this week.

Following the Orioles' 17-inning win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park on Sunday, Orioles manager Buck Showalter unfolded a piece of paper on his desk that showed the recent pitching schedule at Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles' 9-6 extra-inning win was costly. The entire bullpen is taxed, with four different relievers - Jim Johnson, Matt Lindstrom, Pedro Strop and Kevin Gregg - going multiple innings. In the 15 th inning, Showalter sent left-hander Brian Matusz, who will start today's home game against the Rangers, to the bullpen.